To celebrate my birthday, I wanted to go to Blue Hill at Stone Barns, a restaurant on a Rockefeller estate headed by chef Dan Barber. After reading a review hailing it as the most important restaurant in America, I had high expectations. After eating there, I can say that I appreciate the farm-to-table concept which is based on the locavore movement-- and the food was indeed very good-- but I still would have preferred dressing down and eating at their cafe instead. So after the four-course brunch and after roaming around the estate to see the greenhouse and animals, we headed home. On our way back towards the city, we stopped by Stew Leonard's to pick up some groceries and decided to prepare a feast of our own. Below, dinner.



“In Brooklyn, to be into food is do it yourself, to get your hands dirty, to roll up your sleeves. You want to peek in the kitchen in the back, as opposed to being served in the front.”

From this article about food in Brooklyn. Okay, so the quote is a bit self-righteous, and locavorism has become very trendy lately, despite the fact that it would take a whole lifestyle overhaul to stick to the tenets of the movement. But it's true there is a distinction between Brooklyn and Manhattan dining, and it's interesting to observe the trends and differences. While only buying/using locally grown or manufactured food can be difficult nowadays, preparing food yourself is really not a new concept... after all, isn't cooking at home how most people in this country eat?

On a different note, King Arthur has been playing on television for the last hour or so. I look up from my laptop and see Kiera Knightly in face paint and what looks like an iron bikini top, running towards Saxon warriors armed with shield and sword to engage in battle-- sorry folks, can't miss this.